Often I get asked what does sex addiction, porn addiction and cheating addiction look like, how to know if I’m or my partner is addicted to cheating or sex?

 

An addiction is where you use something to fix your feelings, you feel anxiety, stress, lonely, frustrated, bored for example and you use cheating to numb you, to change the way you feel or to escape the pressures of life. The addiction then does that, it provides a temporary relief that changes the way the person feels and the person then becomes dependent on it. This is the hook of the addiction, despite damaging consequences a person continues. One man I supported said that he can’t resist the temptation. 

 

 

WHAT DOES SEX ADDICTION, PORN ADDICTION AND CHEATING ADDICTION LOOK LIKE?
WHAT DOES SEX ADDICTION, PORN ADDICTION AND CHEATING ADDICTION LOOK LIKE?

 

For those who grew up in a chaotic home, where life was not calm and peaceful, it can cause people to create and seek drama and excitement by taking risks.

 

Sex addiction, according to Dr Michael Herkov, can be identified by the following symptoms:

  • Willingness to take risks
  • Having many sexual partners
  • Disruption of home life to enable one’s compulsions
  • Making sex the highest priority in life
  • Falling behind on other responsibilities

 

 

 

A sex addict depends on sex to numb or escape pain just like with any other type of addiction. This can make them compulsively look for sex outside the relationship with no guarantee that they enjoy it. Someone who is addicted to cheating however will not have the same compulsive need for sex, they maybe addicted to the self-esteem boost, the excitement, the rush of someone new or distraction from their own reality.